


Between Leaves

by Ridiculosity



Category: Uprooted - Naomi Novik
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I mean, because I love her, depending on what you like, i had thought of this drawing for a while, its just about a younger Agnieszka tho, ruminating Agnieszka, tbh i was drawing one evening and i just, you can read this as sarkan x agnieszka or agnieszka x kasia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 15:30:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17449634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ridiculosity/pseuds/Ridiculosity
Summary: It was one of those moments when Agnieszka realised that Kasia was going away - and that she hadn't any idea of what her new home would look like. For the dragon lived far away, although they had seen his tower dominating the skies; and Agnieszka was determined to have a closer look.





	Between Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> Agnieszka, looking at The Dragon’s tower before the reaping. I spent all evening drawing this so i wrote a tiny drabble to add on.

[Here's a link to the artwork!](http://wherestoriescomefrom.tumblr.com/post/182084789033/agnieszka-looking-at-the-dragons-tower-before)

* * *

 

She pressed her knees close to her chest. Her toes wriggled ineffectually in the grass - the sunlight of summer streaming down from the trees, touching the tips of her fingers, painting them light.

She buried her nose into her knees - wishing she could be smaller, and smaller, and smaller.

She wished she wasn’t - she wished she wasn’t _fourteen._

That was what it all came down to, she had decided - being fourteen had been the big mistake of her life, and that was just the fact of the matter. If she had been twelve, or thirteen, or even sixteen as of now - she wouldn’t have known that there would be a reaping amongst the girls, she wouldn’t have had to think about the fact that she was losing Kasia.

But she’d never have had to know Kasia, either, which seemed worse somehow.

That miserable feeling of mist creeping into her heart and paralysing her body was awful. She wished it would give in, and she’d simply cry - but Agnieszka wasn’t a frequent crier. She was someone who pressed herself between the trunks of the trees when she was sad, dug into the mud and allowed it to squeeze itself between her nails, and then her tears would sink slowly into the ground, reminding her - you’re _fourteen. Fourteen._

Why did Kasia have to _go?_ Why did she not have to go? Why was Kasia so special, and why was it so hard for Agnieszka to let _go!_ And when she _knew,_ better than _anyone,_ that Kasia was special.

She wished she could see where Kasia would be living. She had seen the tower distantly, dominating the sky that the village had spent its history under. It was white - far away and white. She hadn’t an idea of how large it was, what kind of splendour it was - or even whether it was a tattered remnant of a distant past.  

She got up then. She was going to go look at where Kasia was planning on staying.

Agnieszka’s feet gleaned softly in the wood, stepping over the branches and the undergrowth. They stepped easily over what she remembered, and instinctually over what was new - her hand touched the branches and the trunks - occasionally, she’d trace the lines of the bark and attempt to memorise it.

She walked and walked - long and hard, across the wood - across the forestry - careful to avoid the corrupted areas of the valley. She walked and walked - crawling through the undergrowth and jumping over the rocks. She knew she should fear the walkers more - but her mother had given up trying to beat the fear into her.

And finally she saw the columns of the tower - she needed a better look, she wanted to know. She wanted to know where Kasia would go.

She looked upward at the old Oak that had spread across the forest like a vine. She used her feet to grip a groove in the trunk, hoisted herself up through another branch - and began climbing.

She was good at climbing. She picked her way through the tree, her skirt snagging on one of the branches and tearing a little. Her blouse got picked by one of the smaller twigs, and she was certain there was a leaf in her hair. She was simply glad her skirt hadn’t torn entirely. The top of the tower hung from the sky, beckoning her.

She reached the branch she needed - her fingers gripped the branch above her, and she hung sideways, her feet parted looking at the tall tower.

It was… ornate. It was - unbelievably tall, the columns surrounded the top of it, the view from the top probably sprawling across the valley, looking into her home, reminding her of where she came from. It had the tallest windows, letting in spools of sunlight that would be impossible to contain within the room itself. She imagined the curtains, the plush bed that would fit in a room so large as that, and the cosy fireplace to avoid the drafty winters.

Kasia would be comfortable.

And lonely.

The loneliness tinged the edges of the tower, blurring it a little. It stood tall and proud, and incomprehensibly angry with _her._ She wished Kasia didn’t have to go, but she’d be comfortable. She wished Kasia didn’t have to go - but she’d be educated.

And Agnieszka would _like_ to go.

She banished the thought almost immediately - she was fourteen, thoughtless ideas were frequent - she was fourteen, she simply wanted to live like a lady. She was fourteen, she didn’t know anything about leaving her parents.

She was fourteen - and she wanted more.

She was fourteen - and something about the tower stitched in her heart.

She would have liked him - the owner… if he wasn’t so - so - so much like a monster at times.

**Author's Note:**

> I love reviews <3


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